Path of the Kazekage
by usagi213
Summary: All Gaara wanted was to become Kazekage, and if that meant joining an anbu squad, he would do it. He only hoped his new teammates wouldn't be too weird and that Shukaku wouldn't get out of control.
1. Chapter 1

This story starts during the time skip, during Naruto's training with Jiraiya. Pretty much all we know about Gaara during this time period is that he becomes Kazekage. This story begins during the time skip and is based on the manga, not the anime. Matsuri will not be included. Gaara was never her teacher, and anything else from the anime fillers will not be included. I'm assuming that everyone, with the exception of Gai's students and Temari and Kankuro, were 13 when they took the chunin exams, meaning that they trained for a year after becoming genin at 12. According to canon, Temari is 3 years older than Gaara, and Kankuro is 2 years older. The story starts when Gaara is 14 and has already passed his second chunin exams. It was decided that the fastest route for him to become Kazekage was to join Suna's anbu forces. Oh, and this story will also be romance. It will just take a while to get there. It will be Gaara x OC. There are not many known ninja from the Sand village, so I figured if Gaara was going to date a girl, we wouldn't actually know who she is; therefore, there are many OCs. Please forgive my ranting and enjoy the first chapter. And I don't own the Naruto series.

Chapter One – First Mission

Gaara strapped his new mask onto his face. He had no idea what animal the anbu mask was meant to represent. It had a stripe of green under each eye, but other than that, there were no distinguishing features. He thought it might be a lizard. They were common in the desert after all. Gaara let out a sigh. He had no problem joining Sunagakure's anbu forces. Sunagakure's Council had told him it would be the fastest way to win recognition in order to become Kazekage. Gaara wasn't sure how wearing a mask would help him become recognized. Along with becoming an anbu, he was being forced to complete D ranked missions around the village so that villagers would see him as someone helpful instead of a killing obsessed monster.

He fastened his pack to his hip and jumped out of his window. The waning moon was high in the sky, and Gaara had never felt so light, both physically and mentally. One stipulation of becoming an anbu member was that he was not allowed to carry his gourd. It would be a dead giveaway to his identity to both allies and enemies, and thus his mask would become pointless. He did however have a small version of his gourd stashed away inside the pack attached to his hip with enough sand to create more sand by crushing rocks if needed. Gaara was not used to not having his heavy gourd on his back. It made his steps lights. The lack of glares from villagers as he sped by made his steps lighter, too.

He had yet to meet his new anbu team. The Council, filling in for the lack of Kage, had only handed him his new uniform and told him to meet his new team by the village gates at midnight. Gaara slowed once he came closer to the gates. Three other anbu were standing there.

"Tokage-san," one of the anbu said as Gaara finally reached the group. Gaara sighed. His mask was a lizard after all. He was never terribly fond of lizards. "Tokage-san," the anbu broke Gaara from his thoughts, "I am this squad's captain. You may refer to me as Kuma-san. This is Taka-san and Usagi-san," he said while gesturing to the two other anbu wearing a bear and a rabbit mask who then bowed at the mention of their names. "I am also this squad's medic. If you get injured or poisoned, tell me as soon as possible. This might be your first anbu mission, but you are expected to keep up. Falling behind is not an option. If you are a liability, you will be sent home and stripped of your anbu title. I will brief all of you on the mission on the way there." Kuma-san turned around and began sprinting out into the desert. Taka-san and Usagi-san followed suit. Gaara gave one last sigh and then started after his new team.

They had been running through the desert for nine hours in complete silence, and Gaara knew that he had never made such good time while traveling through the desert. For once he was glad he had Shukaku. He was positive he would be exhausted without the demon replenishing his chakra. They were already almost at the oasis near Wind Country's northeast border, a trip that takes most ninja at least thirteen hours. Kuma-san began to slow down once they reached the oasis. When everyone had stopped, Kuma-san turned around.

"As you may have guessed, we're heading to Amegakure," Kuma-san began. "Our target is Himura Osamu, a traitor who has been selling his village's secrets. We have been contracted by Amegakure to take him out. He lives just outside the village wall, and, according to our sources, has high level genjutsu placed around his house. That should be the only trap set, but be on the lookout. Taka-san," Kuma-san turned to the anbu standing next to him, "I want you to neutralize the genjutsu. Usagi-san and Tokage-san, I want you two to neutralize any weapon traps and kill any and all guards. We were told that genjustu was the only trap, but our relationship with Amegakure is strained at best. There is a good chance that we were lied to in the hopes to take out two enemies with one stone. After all threats are neutralized, I will kill Himura. Himura's house is three kilometers almost straight east of the border. We will rest here until nightfall." After finishing his speech, Kuma-san sat down next to the water and began to refill his canteen.

To say the least, Gaara wasn't thrilled. It was about eleven hours until the sun went down, and that meant eleven hours sitting under a hot desert sun with only the little shade the palm trees at the oasis offered. Gaara let out his longest sigh yet and went over to lean against one of the trees. He started to meditate. He wasn't able to sleep because of Shukaku, and if he had to just sit around in the heat, he might go crazy, and Gaara going crazy usually meant bloodshed.

"Oi, Tokage," a feminine voice yelled out. Gaara's nonexistent brows furrowed together. All he wanted to do for the next eleven hours was meditate, not listen to loud women. He got enough of that from his sister.

"Taka-san, unless you want to tell all of Amegakure we're here, shut up," Kuma-san said from his spot by the water. "And besides," he continued, "Usagi-san's asleep. Try not to wake her up again."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Taka-san said in a quieter voice while sitting down next to Gaara. "Just talking won't wake Usagi-san up or tip off anyone of our location. More importantly, Tokage-san, as our new rookie, we don't know anything about you. We have eleven hours. Start talking. Gaara visibly gulped. He wasn't fond of talking in general or talking about himself or bossy women. Today was just not his lucky day.

"You might as well," Kuma-san called over to them. "If Taka-san can't sense anyone nearby, we're safe. We're in the middle of nowhere. No one will overhear the conversation."

"See!" Taka-san said while peeling her mask off, "It's fine. Now, mask off! Introductions are in order!" Gaara looked wearily at his new companion. She had short brown hair that was sticking to the sides and back of her tanned neck with sweat. Her brown eyes were shining and her mouth was cracked into a smile. She was obviously waiting for Gaara to start being friendly. When it became obvious it wasn't going to happen, she frowned and tried to swipe Gaara's mask off of his face. When she tried, sand came up to block her hand. Her face went blank for a second, but then she started to smile again. Gaara started to sweat. Now she knew who he was because of his sand. She probably wouldn't want to be on a team with him anymore. "You're Gaara!" she exclaimed. "Awesome! Now I won't have to do any work!" Under his mask, Gaara's face was switching through emotions faster than ever before. His new teammate was excited to work with a demon? That was definitely the first time he had ever gotten that reaction.

"Haruka," Kuma-san said while he walked over to them, "yes, he is Gaara, and no, you can't stop working just because he's on our squad now." Haruka started to pout. "Gaara, you can go ahead and remove your mask. It's against protocol, but since Haruka over here has already broken it, it doesn't matter. We have to keep our masks on at all times, even within Sunagakure, so this is really the only time we'll ever be able to get to know each other," Kuma-san said while removing his mask. He had dirty blond hair that was slicked back and muddy green eyes. "I'm Yamada Kaito, and over there is Tachibana Miyuki," he said while gesturing to the still sleeping Usagi-san, "and this here is Hino Haruka." Gaara slowly reached up to remove his mask. Even the hot desert air felt good against his flushed face. He blinked rapidly at the sudden brightness. He eyed his new teammates. The two that were awake seemed nice enough and seemed like decent ninjas; they were in anbu after all.

"I was wondering if you might be Gaara, with the red hair and all," Haruka said while tapping her chin. "I wasn't sure though because you don't have your giant gourd strapped on your back." Haruka leaned over and squinted her eyes at Gaara. "How old are you? Like twelve?" Gaara started to have a coughing fit.

"I'm fourteen," Gaara stated after recovering from his coughing.

"Fourteen?" Haruka asked with glee. "Aw, you're just a baby! I'm twenty five and Kaito over here is twenty seven. Big age difference, huh?" Haruka added while counting the years on her fingers. "But Miyuki is sixteen, so you guys are pretty close in age." Gaara glanced over at Miyuki who was still in her rabbit mask and still sleeping.

"Ma ma, Haruka, you're being too loud," Kaito said while waving his hand at Haruka. "You'll wake Miyuki, and she needs her rest. You should really be resting, too. You never know what tomorrow will bring."

"Hai, taichou," Haruka said while mock saluting. She slipped back on her anbu mask while muttering under her breath. She sat a meter away from Miyuki and laid down.

"You, too, Gaara. You might not be able to sleep, but you still need to rest," Kaito said. "I'll take first watch. You go ahead and meditate." Kaito walked to the next tree and sat up against it while he slipped back on his mask. Gaara could sense him probing the area for any foreign chakra signatures. Gaara was mildly surprised that Kaito knew he could not sleep. As captain of the anbu squad, he was probably told about Gaara and his insomnia. Although, it was common knowledge in Sunagakure that if Sabaku no Gaara falls asleep, chaos will occur.

Gaara pushed that thought out of his mind. Just ten more hours, then the real mission would start, and the sharp pains in his skull he had been experiencing would go away. Shukaku would get his blood, and then Gaara could be free of his taunts. Since meeting Naruto, Gaara had become better able to both control and ignore Shukaku, but it had been over a month since Gaara had gone on any kind of "real" mission, according to Shukaku at least. The demon wasn't particularly happy with Gaara, and was letting Gaara know loud and clear with violent headaches. Gaara sighed and let his mind drift into a state of semi-consciousness that would allow him a break from both reality and Shukaku's taunts while still maintaining the consciousness needed to control the demon. Gaara's breathing and heartbeat slowed as he reached the closest thing to sleep he'd ever get.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two – Blood Bath

"Tokage-san," a voice whispered. Gaara broke his meditation and opened his eyes to see his new anbu captain trying to wake him up. "Good," Kuma-san said. "You're awake. If you'll wake up Taka-san, I'll wake up Usagi-san." Gaara grimaced. Not only did he have to wake up a rather annoying female, he had meditated for ten hours straight. The sun was setting, and Gaara had meant to stop meditating in order to take over the watch from Kuma-san. He walked over to Taka-san and debated how to wake her up. He sighed and settled for nudging her with his foot.

"Taka-san," Gaara said with another nudge. "Taka-san, wake up." The next thing Gaara knew was that there was now a kunai embedded in the sand surrounding his foot. Gaara raised his gaze from the kunai to his teammate, Taka-san.

"Whoops," Taka-san said while rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry there. I'm kinda testy when I first wake up. Good thing you have your sand!" If Gaara could see Haruka's face, he was positive she would be grinning.

"It's time to go," Gaara said with a sigh. All he wanted was a _normal _anbu squad with _normal _teammates. While Kaito seemed nice enough, Haruka seemed to be crazier and bossier than his sister. _Great, just great_, Gaara thought. He let out a frustrated sigh to calm himself and turned to see his other two teammates. Usagi-san was now standing up and was in the process of brushing the sand off of her uniform. She sensed Gaara's gaze on herself, and looked up to meet it. She gave a curt nod and turned to ask Kuma-san a question.

"Kuma-san," Usagi-san began, "do you have the blueprints for Himura Osamu's house?"

"Hai, here they are. Everyone gather 'round," Kuma-san said while gesturing for his teammates to come closer. "Taka-san and I are going to go in first in this entrance here," he said while pointing to one of the backdoors drawn onto the paper. "Taka-san, you will go ahead of me and neutralize all genjustsu present and continue to do so until we reach here," Kuma-san then pointed to a rectangle that represented Himura's private bedroom. "Himura should be in this room, and I will then proceed to kill the target. Taka-san, you will only intervene if necessary. Now, after Taka-san and I enter, Usagi-san and Tokage-san will immediately follow. Usagi-san, I want you to take care of any hidden weapons and traps while Tokage-san takes care of any hired bodyguards. Tokage-san, if any guards attempt to face Taka-san or myself, you are to get their attention and fight them yourself. Everyone understand?" The rest of the group nodded. "Let's move out!"

Gaara began running behind Kuma-san and Taka-san with Usagi-san several meters to his right. Gaara took a deep breath to prepare himself. They would have to run for about an hour and a half to reach their target's home, but if they had rested any closer to Himura's house, they would have risked being spotted. Nonetheless, the trip would be a frustrating one indeed. The whole squad was wasting chakra that could be necessary in a fight. Once again Gaara was shocked to find himself thankful that he had Shukaku resting within his body. It was nice having a basically unlimited supply of chakra.

However thankful Gaara was at that moment for Shukaku, he was also worried that Shukaku's bloodlust would cause trouble if Gaara had to kill any guards. Gaara knew he was a perfect candidate to take out any of the said guards because of his perfect defense, but Gaara was worried he might harm one of his teammates in the process, namely one anbu member hiding behind a rabbit mask. He had been getting better at controlling the demon, but the last mission Gaara had gone on where he had to kill someone was over four months ago, and Shukaku was not happy. Gaara prayed to whatever god was listening that things would go smoothly and that he would not harm the girl running by his side or any of his other teammates.

Gaara was well aware that he was not very physically intimidating, when Shukaku was under control that is. He rather short for his age, only 155 centimeters, and, besides his height, Gaara had always been rather skinny. But, even compared to Gaara, Tachibana Miyuki was a small fry. She was at least four centimeters shorter than Gaara, and even with her full anbu gear on, she was not particularly intimidating. Gaara just hoped that if Shukaku got out of hand, that she would be able to handle herself.

Gaara pushed that thought out of his head. The girl was in anbu after all, so she must be a good ninja. Gaara wondered what she looked like under her mask. He couldn't even tell what color hair she had because of some sort of metal plate that covered a good portion of the back of her head, no doubt to cover her hair and keep it from getting in the way during missions. Gaara vaguely wondered if she was cute. Gaara's face paled at the thought, and he nearly tripped. Usagi-san warily looked over at the masked Gaara as if to ask what was wrong. Gaara just shook his head and continued to run.

He had no idea where that thought had come from. He had never thought of a woman as pretty or cute before, except for when he was a child and his uncle had shown him pictures of his mother. Of course, that was before his uncle had told him that his mother never loved him and that she cursed his very existence. After that, Gaara never viewed any woman as beautiful. He thought of them all as manipulative and cruel, just seeking a means to an end. This view changed when the pink haired genin of Konohagakure jumped in front of him to save her moody teammate. Gaara had never seen someone sacrifice so much for another person, let alone some silly girl. Then Naruto continued to destroy all of Gaara's preconceived notions about women by fighting to protect Sakura.

Gaara knew now that he had been wrong. Not all women are cruel. Maybe his mother had been, but that didn't apply to all of womankind. Nonetheless, Gaara had no desire to go around wondering if a girl was _cute_ or not. Heaven forbid. Still, Gaara wanted to know what Usagi-san was hiding behind her mask. He had seen both of his other teammates' faces, but not hers. _Curse her for falling asleep so quickly_, Gaara thought. He knew it was childish and against anbu code to want to see her face, but Gaara couldn't bring himself to care. Gaara was going to see her face sooner or later. He only hoped it would be sooner.

Gaara's train of thought was quickly broken when his fellow anbu members started to slow down. He looked up and spotted a traditional looking house situated in a large garden. It was finally time for the real mission to start.

Gaara watched as Taka-san and Kuma-san quickly and stealthily ran to the closest entrance. Taka-san quickly pushed some of her chakra into the door to check for traps and then opened it. A slight pulse of chakra filtered through the air as she neutralized the genjutsu in and around the building. She quickly rushed through the door, and Kuma-san followed right on her heels. Gaara and Usagi-san followed after them.

Gaara took a deep breath and scanned the area for any foreign chakras. He found two coming towards his left. He uncorked the miniature gourd stashed in his pack and took a fighting stance. Two thuggish looking men without hitai-ate ran out at Gaara from a darkened hallway. With a yell the first man swung a heavy sword at Gaara. Gaara's limited sand supply blocked the attack, and Gaara quickly used the sand to slit the man's throat. Gaara then turned to face the other man who was attempting to sneak up on Usagi-san who was pulsing her chakra to check for traps. Gaara launched his sand through the man's back, quickly killing him.

Having neutralized all threats in their current area, Gaara and Usagi-san quickly went on to the next while scanning the area for more enemies. Three more men were waiting in the next hallway, one of which was wearing an Ame hitai-ate. Both Gaara and Usagi-san got into battle stances and then leapt at their opponents. Gaara easily took out the non-nin to his left with another slash of his sand to the throat. It was then that Gaara was overwhelmed with the coppery scent of blood. He turned to see the other non-nin laying on the floor dead and Usagi-san fighting the Ame ninja. She had a deep gash on her shoulder that was dripping blood all over her front. Gaara's eyes dilated as he watched a drop of blood flow from the wound onto Usagi-san's anbu vest. It had been a long time since Gaara had been around that much fresh blood. Gaara's head started to pound, and all he could hear was Shukaku screaming. He wanted blood so bad.

Before he could think, some of the sand from his sand shield slithered off of his body to join the other sand that was quickly making its way towards the fight. Gaara watched as if in slow motion as Usagi-san used her sword to block an attack from the Ame ninja. She was pushed back, but then jumped forward to land a hit on the foreign shinobi. The man visibly winced in pain as Usagi-san's sword cut a clean gash in his torso. Gaara could only watch as new blood was freed from the man's body and dripped onto the floor.

Gaara gripped his head as Shukaku's screams for blood got louder. He was constantly reminding Gaara that he hadn't truly lived in months, but Gaara knew he couldn't let Shukaku win. If he did, there was a good chance that Usagi-san would wind up crushed by sand. Usagi-san managed to hit the other ninja again with her sword, this time severing both arteries and tendons in his left arm. More blood gushed out of the wound. Gaara's eyes turned from teal to yellow as Shukaku broke out of Gaara's feeble control, and all Gaara could do was hope that he wouldn't kill his brand new teammate.

Gaara watched from inside his mind as his body stood up. All of Gaara's vision was murky, as if he was looking through thick, muddy water. He saw his body raise his hand and clench his fist. Sand exploded everywhere and then quickly found the Ame ninja and the Suna kunoichi. Gaara could hear screaming as the sand encompassed Shukaku's latest victims. The screaming ended as quickly as it had started. Blood poured out of the sand, and Gaara could hear Shukaku laughing with his own body.

Gaara closed his eyes within his mind. He had just killed his teammate, and he couldn't stand to see her limp body just sitting there. He had just killed Miyuki, a girl he didn't even get to know, and he hadn't even tried to help her. She was his teammate, and he just let it happen, and Gaara was sick with himself. He had done it again. It wasn't the first time he had killed an ally, but it was the first time in many years. The first time it had happened since he had met Naruto, and Gaara felt like the regret and disgust might eat him alive. _This wasn't supposed to happen again!_ Gaara yelled at himself.

Just when Gaara felt like he was about to lose himself and just give into sleep, he felt a sharp pang across his cheek. His eyes flew open, and he saw Usagi-san standing in front of him, shoulders heaving. His first thought was that he must be in some kind of hell, and Miyuki was here to torment him forever for letting her die. Gaara's eyes widened when he realized that his vision wasn't murky and that he wasn't unconscious or dead. Usagi-san must have woken him up. He tentatively moved his hand to touch his cheek. It was sore, and Gaara belatedly realized that he still had his anbu mask on. The porcelain on the left side of his mask was now cracked and digging into his skin.

"You idiot!" Usagi-san snarled, obviously very mad at Gaara. "You could've killed everyone, yourself included! Are you some kind of retard? How dare you join anbu when you can't even control your demon! You idiot!" By the end of her screaming, Usagi-san was kneeling over Gaara shaking his shoulders as if it would help knock some sense into him. It was beginning to hurt, but Gaara thought that at that moment that his female anbu teammate was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. By some miracle, she was alive. He hadn't killed her. Gaara didn't know how it was possible, but at that moment he didn't particularly care. All that was important was that he hadn't killed her. He wasn't a total monster.

"Usagi-san, that's enough," a calm voice called out. Both Gaara and the still angry Usagi-san turned to see Kuma-san and Taka-san standing at the entrance of the hallway. "The target has been eliminated," Kuma-san said. "We need to start moving in case anyone has heard the commotion and decides to see what happened. Tokage-san," at this Kuma-san moved to Gaara's side, "I highly doubt you are in any condition to run. You'll have to be carried. We can discuss what happened here when we make it back to the oasis."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three – Confrontation

After an hour of running, or an hour of being carried on Kuma-san's back for Gaara, the group made it back to the oasis. Kuma-san knelt down in front of one of the palm trees to let Gaara climb off of his back. Gaara felt awful, both physically and mentally. Having Shukaku take control of his body always made him feel a little sluggish, but what Gaara was worried about more was whether or not he would be allowed to stay in anbu. He knew the chances that he would get kicked out after his royal failure were very likely, and if that happened, he could kiss ever being Kazekage goodbye.

"Before we discuss what happened," Kuma-san started, "Usagi-san needs medical attention." Gaara looked over to see Miyuki leaning against another tree to his left. Kuma-san walked over to her while stripping off his mask. He kneeled down beside her and inspected the wound on her shoulder with probing medical chakra. "Well, it's not infected or poisoned. That's good. You'll still need to take some chakra replenishing pills though." Kaito began rummaging through his pack for the pills while Miyuki lifted her good arm to her rabbit mask. Gaara watched discreetly as her fingers wrapped around the edge of the mask. She was slowly pulling it off, and –

"Hey, Tokage!" Gaara whipped his head to see a now unmasked Haruka walking towards him. Gaara's eyes widened behind his mask as he realized he had been distracted from his mission – to see Miyuki without her mask. He quickly turned his head around to see if Miyuki still had her mask on or not. She did, to Gaara's disappointment, and Kaito was putting what looked like a container of chakra replenishing pills back into his pack. Gaara mentally cursed. He had missed seeing her face. Sighing dejectedly, Gaara looked back at Haruka. She was now standing next to him smirking deviously.

"Don't worry, Tokage," she said as she sat down next to him. "Miyuki's had worse injuries. You should be worried about yourself. Your mask's cracked, and I'm guessing it's because Miyuki hit you. That girl can really pack a punch." Haruka's smiled faded after her last statement. She slowly reached towards Gaara's face. He visibly tensed when Haruka's hand made contact with his mask.

"Relax, Tokage. I'm just assessing the damage," she said as she removed Gaara's mask. Turning his head with her fingers to get a better look at his injured cheek, Haruka smiled as she saw the pieces of porcelain that were now lodged into Gaara's skin. "She really got you good, huh? Next time try not to tick her off so much, ne?" Haruka stood up after she was done talking. "Oi, Kaito, do you have any tweezers in your bag?" she asked as she made her way towards her captain.

"Yeah," Kaito responded while still paying attention to Miyuki's shoulder. "They should be towards the bottom of my pack." Haruka grabbed the bag off the sand and began rummaging through it. She let out a light "aha!" after finding it and went back to Gaara's side.

"This might hurt a little," she said as she aimed the tweezers at one of the pieces of porcelain." Gaara winced. She had missed the porcelain entirely and had forcibly grabbed a section of his skin with the tweezers. "Whoops. Sorry there. It's too dark to see all that well," Haruka said. She was smiling widely, and Gaara guessed that she really wasn't terribly sorry that she kept missing the pieces of porcelain with the tweezers and kept getting his skin instead.

Gaara let out a slow sigh, careful not to move so Haruka wouldn't mess up even more. The feeling of getting shards of his mask pulled out of his skin was rather unpleasant, and Gaara knew it would take a while. The sun wouldn't rise for at least another four hours, and the darkness was not helping Haruka's tweezing skills.

"Gaara," Kaito called. "It's time to talk." Both he and a still masked Miyuki walked over to where Gaara and Haruka were sitting. Sitting next to Gaara, Kaito took the tweezers from Haruka's hand and quickly removed the remaining broken porcelain from Gaara's face without ever missing. Once he was done, Kaito quickly stashed the tweezers back into his pack.

"We need to know what happened," Kaito started again. "We'll hear both sides of the story, but we'll start with you, Gaara." Gaara held back a sigh. He was looking forward to this conversation, or the consequences that will follow. He guessed a monster was never meant to become Kazekage anyway.

"There were five guards total. The first two were in the first hallway and were not ninjas. I took them out without incident," Gaara said. "When we moved to the next hallway, there were three more guards, only one of which was a ninja. I took out the non-nin closest to me. After I had killed him, I noticed that Usagi-san had killed the other non-nin and was fighting the Ame ninja. She had sustained the wound on her shoulder and had given the other ninja several wounds. There…" Gaara hesitated. He could see the battle perfectly inside his head, and he didn't particularly want to repeat it, but he continued. "There was so much blood. I haven't been on a mission where fighting was necessary in months. I couldn't stop Shukaku from coming out. I just couldn't stop it…" Gaara bowed his head. He had been ashamed of himself when the event occurred, but retelling it only made the shame worse. He hadn't asked for Shukaku to be put inside of him, and he hadn't asked it to kill all those people either.

"Okay," Kaito said with a nod. "Miyuki, it's your turn."

"It's like Gaara-san said," she began slowly. "He took out the first two guards in the first hallway while I took care of all of the hidden traps. When we got to the second hallway I sensed that there were no hidden traps or weapons so I took out the opponent closest to me, one of the non-ninja guards. While I was doing this, the Ame ninja managed to hit my shoulder with his sword. We fought, and I managed to hit him twice. It was then that I noticed that sand was coming towards us," at this she threw a pointed glance at Gaara.

It was obvious Miyuki was still angry at Gaara for losing control. However, her anger only succeeded in making Gaara more ashamed of himself. "I stopped the sand from attacking me and watched as Gaara-san killed the Ame nin with his sand," Miyuki continued. "While still blocking the sand from attacking me, I then… Then I slapped Gaara-san for doing something so blatantly stupid." Miyuki gave a huff and crossed her arms. She turned to face Gaara, her angry intent obvious.

"How could you do something like that," she asked in a whisper. "You say you couldn't control it, but the demons sealed inside you! It takes conscious effort to undue a seal of that power. There's no way something like that could have happened on accident, Gaara-san." Miyuki said angrily.

Gaara was sitting still, both shocked and ashamed at Miyuki's word. "But I don't have a seal," he said quietly. "Letting Shukaku have control is never a conscious effort. There's nothing I can do when he wants control." Gaara slumped over more. He felt insulted because of Miyuki's accusations, but he knew most people in the village agreed with her, but they couldn't be more wrong.

"You don't a seal for Shukaku?" Kaito asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the group. Gaara nodded the feeling of shame about to overcome him. "If you don't have seal, then how is Shukaku staying inside of you? Without a seal, he should be unable to reside within a host."

"Shukaku was placed inside me while I was in my mother's womb," Gaara said methodically. It was not the first time he had had to explain how he had become the host for Shukaku. "The Elders figured that because Shukaku was physically tied to me that I did not need a seal to further tie him to me."

Kaito slumped back against a tree muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "those idiot elders." "That's a problem, a really big problem, Gaara," Kaito said looking over at Gaara. "A host for one of the bijuu can't be stable without a seal, mentally and physically. I imagine that the elders have caused you a lot of undue suffering because they arbitrarily decided that you didn't need a seal."

Gaara sat completely still. He had never even considered a reality where Shukaku didn't make his life a living hell. It seemed too good to be true.

"I know another member in anbu who's an expert on seals," Kaito said. "I'll talk to him and see what he knows. Gaara, if you could meet me at my house sometime tomorrow, I'll have him talk to you about getting you a seal. I'll give you my address later. We should all go ahead and head back to Sunagakure. The sooner we get home, the sooner we can rest without worries."

Haruka and Kaito stood up, and Kaito helped Miyuki stand up. Kaito let out a sigh as he saw that Gaara was still sitting down, no doubt shocked at the news he had just received.

"Don't worry Gaara." At Kaito's words, Gaara looked up at his squad captain. "We're a team, and we always help each other. This will stay in anbu. None of the Council will know what happened here tonight other than that the mission was successfully completed. Anbu members are only loyal to other anbu members and the Kazekage, not the Council. One day soon, you're going to become Kazekage, and we'll make sure of that." Kaito gave Gaara a grin and motioned for him to stand up.

Once Gaara was standing, the rest of his team put on their masks. They all began running, except for Miyuki who was on Kuma-san's back most likely still recovering from her wound. Gaara hadn't thought that the wound was that bad. Sure, it was bleeding like crazy, but it was only her shoulder. The sword hadn't hit anything vital, but Gaara wasn't a medic so he kept his mouth shut.

Gaara had always enjoyed traveling through the desert. He felt at home in the sandy plains, and talking was for the most part unnecessary. He had never been a fan of starting conversations. The quiet and peaceful landscape of the desert always gave him time to think, and for the past four hours of running, Gaara was thinking about the young girl wearing a rabbit mask in front of him. It was just beginning to get light outside, and Gaara entertained himself by watching Miyuki. She had fallen asleep almost immediately after the group had started traveling.

In the first hour of running, Gaara had attempted to try to not pay any attention to Miyuki, but his eyes always kept on going back to her sleeping figure. Gaara knew he was starting to become infatuated with a girl he didn't even know, and that thought scared him. The only female he talked to on a regular basis was Temari, and she was scary enough. Gaara didn't understand people in general very well to begin with, but girls were like a whole different species. Gaara found himself lost every time a girl came up to talk to him. Kankuro told him they were "flirting" with him, but that term was foreign to Gaara.

Gaara had never given much thought to girls before, but now he was giving nine hours of monotonous traveling to thoughts of just one girl, and it was driving him crazy. He was Sabaku no Gaara, the monster of Sunagakure, not some hormonal teenage boy. His gaze went back to Miyuki. She was still as sound asleep as the last time Gaara had looked at her. Part of Gaara was jealous of Miyuki. The majority of the time he had spent with her so far, she had been asleep. Gaara had never been able to sleep, and now he had to watch some girl do something he'd never get the chance to do.

Even with jealousy boiling inside Gaara, he couldn't bring himself to resent her. She was just too cute. Gaara mentally froze. That was the second time he had thought that she was cute. _Shukaku must've really messed up my brain_, Gaara thought. He only hoped he was right.

While Gaara was still mulling over his recently acquired girl problems, the group reached Sunagakure's gates. Before they reached the entrance, Kuma-san stopped to wake up Miyuki. He crouched down once she was awake so she could climb off his back. The group then walked to the gates and showed the guards their IDs. As the guards let them through, Kuma-san's hand brushed Gaara's. Gaara jumped at the sensation, but then realized that there was now a piece of paper in his hand, no doubt Kaito's address. Each member of the group then walked in the direction of his or her home, or in Kuma-san's case, to the Kazekage tower to report a mission complete.

Gaara was about to head towards his home, when he was stopped by a hand on his arm, a very small and pretty hand. Gaara's eyes traced the hand to its arm and to its owner's face.

"Tokage-san," Miyuki said after she got Gaara's attention. "I need to apologize. How I acted during the mission was inappropriate and unprofessional. I'm sorry for yelling at you, and for slapping you. I was wrong, and I misjudged you." With that, Miyuki let go of Gaara's arm and walked in the direction complete opposite of Gaara's home. Gaara just stood there stunned. He hadn't expected her to talk to him, let alone apologize for hitting him, especially when she had every right to be angry.

Only one thing was for sure: Gaara had some of the weirdest teammates ever.

Author's note:

So another chapter's done. I hope everyone that's reading this story is enjoying it, and I hope that the shifts between using anbu code names and everyone's real names isn't too abrupt. If it is, someone let me know. Also, the next chapter might take a little longer than the others. I'm leaving for college in less than twelve hours. My new laptop (I'm writing this one on my old one) does not a word processing program, and I most likely won't have internet for several days. So sorry for any possible delays. I'm also writing very short chapters. I'd really like to have longer ones, but I just don't have the time, but the shorter chapters will let me update faster. If any one would prefer longer chapters and slower updates, let me know please.

I also don't know whether not Gaara _actually_ has a seal or not, but it makes the story a whole lot more interesting if he doesn't. So he doesn't.

Another thing, I'm trying really hard to get Gaara's personality right. I'm not a boy, and definitely not a fourteen year old boy, so bear with me.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the late update. I just started college, and things have been very hectic. This chapter's a bit longer than the others, but it's still not all that long. If anyone would prefer longer chapters, please let me know. Also, it would be great if more people reviewed this story. I'm kinda sad that not many people have. And, if you haven't reviewed because there's something about this story that you don't like or would prefer it to be different, let me know. I'd love to hear everyone's opinions!

Chapter Four – Changes and Faces

Gaara was sitting on the sofa in his room staring at a crumpled piece of paper. It had Kaito's address on it, and Gaara had been staring at it and fidgeting slightly for the past hour. If he went to Kaito's house, he would get a seal for Shukaku. If he got a seal for Shukaku, his whole life would change. Gaara wasn't fond of change. The entire idea was foreign to him. He lived in a desert that only had two seasons: drought and rain. His whole life was one big mass of monotony before he had met Naruto. He killed, and he was feared. Then that baka Naruto had to go and mess everything up. Gaara didn't resent Naruto in the least, but he had gotten comfortable in his routine, and Naruto had completely destroyed it. Gaara was finally starting to get used to being okay with kindness and mercy, but he wasn't sure how a seal would change his outlook on things. Shukaku caused a large amount of Gaara's emotions, and with a seal, Gaara knew this would change, just not by how much.

With a sigh, Gaara stuffed the piece of paper into his pants. He wasn't sure what to tell his siblings. The three had become closer ever since Gaara had met Naruto, but Gaara didn't know if he should tell them he was getting a seal. On one hand, he desperately wanted to tell them. They had become his closest friends after Naruto, and he really wanted their advice about what to do. On the other hand, Gaara knew he shouldn't tell them. The walls in Sunagakure always had eyes and ears, and Gaara didn't want just anyone, namely the Council, to find out about his pending seal.

Resigning to not tell his siblings, Gaara walked out of his room and towards the main section of the Sand Sibling's home. Ever since he was a child, Gaara had lived in a separate wing from his siblings. As a child, he shared this wing with his uncle. After his uncle's death, Gaara had lived in the wing alone, only venturing into the main building for meals which he frequently skipped in order to avoid his father. That plan never worked, however, because Gaara's father always went into Gaara's room after diner to lecture Gaara about his inappropriate manners. Said lectures generally included lots of one sided yelling and Gaara getting called a monster at least twice.

Pushing that thought aside, Gaara entered the main living room of his home. It appeared that his siblings weren't home, which suited Gaara just fine. It made not telling them about the seal easier. He couldn't tell them anything if they weren't there after all. Gaara reached the doorway and paused to slip on his shoes.

The walk to Kaito's apartment was relatively quiet, at least by Sunagakure's standards. The streets were always busy and loud during the day, but Kaito's building was in a newer part of the village. Instead of hearing children laughing and women gossiping, Gaara heard construction noises as he neared his destination. Gaara didn't mind it. There were fewer eyes following him suspiciously, and Gaara honestly enjoyed seeing his village grow.

Gaara soon reached Kaito's building. Its appearance was similar to many of the building around it, a rounded building made of sand and clay with small, round windows. Gaara climbed the outside staircase and reached a small breeze way that separated the two sides of the building. Walking up to Kaito's door, number 217, Gaara raised his hand to knock. He took a deep breath and then knocked on the door with his tightly curled fist. Several seconds of silence ensued, which to Gaara seemed like an eternity. The door opened much too slowly for Gaara's liking.

"Gaara," Kaito began as soon as the door was completely open. "Come on in." The older man quickly ushered Gaara inside. Once Gaara was in the entryway and busying himself by slipping off his dusty sandals, Kaito shut the door and led the way into his small living room. Gaara was discreetly looking around. The walls were a sandy color, something very common in Sunagakure, and even though the room was small, it felt homey. Gaara glanced at the furniture and was shocked to find a girl sitting on Kaito's sofa that was looking back at him with something akin to mild curiosity.

"Hello, Gaara-san," the girl said bowing her head slightly. Gaara wracked his brains to think of where he had heard that voice recently. He heard a soft chuckle, and his head shot up to look at Kaito who was laughing for some reason unbeknownst to Gaara.

"Miyuki over here just stopped by for some healing," Kaito explained gesturing to the girl sitting on his sofa. Gaara's eyes widened. The girl sitting not even two meters away from him was Miyuki, one of his female teammates, his female teammate that he had found himself thinking of more often than not. Gaara slowly inclined his head to show he had recognized her and tried to inconspicuously look her over. He had never seen her without her anbu uniform and mask after all.

She was a very small girl, but that much Gaara already knew. Her hair was completely white and pooled around her on the sofa. She had on a light pink civilian dress, and the skin that was left showing, which was a lot to Gaara's pleas – horror – definitely horror, was lightly tanned. Removing his gaze from Miyuki's soft looking legs, Gaara saw that the eyes that were looking wearily back into his were pink. Gaara almost laughed. This girl had white hair, pale skin and pink eyes, _and_ her anbu codename was Usagi. Gaara wondered how the whole village hadn't already figured out that she was the anbu running around with and usagi mask when she looked so much like a rabbit. She really was cute after all.

Gaara mentally slapped himself. It wasn't even ten in the morning, and here he was already thinking that some girl he had met two days previously was cute. Again. It was then that his hormone clouded mind managed to key onto another piece of information. Gaara gaze went back to Miyuki and looked her over again. Kaito had said she had stopped by for healing, meaning that she must be hurt.

"Are you hurt?" Gaara said as dispassionately as he could, which meant he still ended up sounding very concerned.

"No," Miyuki said as she waved her hand to brush off Gaara's question. Upon doing so, she immediately winced and held her wrist with her opposite hand. "I just sprained my wrist during training. It's no big deal." Miyuki smiled at Gaara, and it was the fakest thing he had ever seen, including all the lies his uncle told him. "I'm already feeling better. I'll leave you two to your business." As Miyuki stood up and turned towards the front door, Kaito gently grabbed her elbow.

"Are you sure, Miyuki?" Kaito said as he turned the girl to face him and grabbed her lightly by the shoulders. "It's not a problem to heal you, and I don't want you to be in any pain." Miyuki shot a much less fake smile at Kaito, and Gaara found himself feeling jealous.

"I'm fine, Kaito-nii," Miyuki replied as she continued to the door. Gaara tried to quell the jealous feeling inside of him. She obviously considered Kaito as a brother, so there was nothing to be jealous of. Nevertheless, Gaara still found himself being annoyed. "If it still hurts, I'll stop by tomorrow." With her last statement, Miyuki opened the door and walked out. Kaito gave an exasperated sigh and ruffled his hair.

Even after seeing Miyuki's face, she was still a total mystery to Gaara. There was no way she had been training. It was still early in the morning, and she was wearing clean civilian clothes. But, if she hadn't been training, how did she get injured?

"Miyuki-san wasn't training, was she?" Gaara asked Kaito bluntly. Kaito turned to face him looking mildly shocked.

"No, she wasn't," he admitted. "I'm surprised you caught on though. Most people don't pay enough attention to realize that Miyuki's stories never really add up."

"How did she get hurt?" Gaara asked again honestly wanting to know the answer.

"Well," Kaito began as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, "that's an interesting story. You'd really have to ask Miyuki, but she probably wouldn't tell you, but you don't need to worry. She's a tough little girl. More importantly, you should probably be more concerned about yourself. Today's the big day, huh?"

It was obvious that Kaito was trying very hard to change the subject, and it worked perfectly. Gaara swallowed as silently as he could. Kaito really was right. He really shouldn't be worried about cute girls with pretty white hair that were mysteriously injured; he should be much more worried about getting his seal in the very near future.

"Are we ready?" Gaara asked. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he knew he wanted it over with as soon as possible.

"Not quite," Kaito replied. "An old teammate of mine will be helping us, but he isn't here yet. We can get some things started though." Kaito gestured to his low coffee table. "We can go ahead and get the room cleared. We'll need some space for this."

Gaara helped Kaito move the table along with some chairs. Kaito produced a slightly discolored linen sheet from a kitchen cabinet, and covered the now clear floor with it. By the time he was done, there was a slight tapping against the window. Gaara looked up to see a man kneeling on the ledge of Kaito's second story window. Kaito walked over and slid the window open.

"It's about time you got here," Kaito told the man as he jumped through the window and into the room.

"Sorry," the man began. "I had guard duty earlier this morning and just got off."

"Gaara," Kaito said while both men turned to face Gaara. "This is Wakanaba Shouma. We used to be teammates. He's the one I called over to help us."

"Nice to meet you, Gaara-san," Shouma said bowing his head slightly.

"Nice to meet you, too," Gaara replied trying to sound courteous. Gaara looked at the man he was basically entrusting his life to. He looked like a normal Suna shinobi: brown hair, brown eyes, and relatively tanned skin.

"Shall we get started?" Shouma said. Both Gaara and Kaito nodded. Gaara watched as Kaito walked over to the window and closed the blinds. He felt a slight pulse of chakra and realized that Shouma must have created a chakra barrier around the room in order to prevent any unnecessary interruptions or spying.

"Gaara," Kaito said drawing Gaara's attention. "We need you to lie down in the middle of the sheet. You'll need to take your shirt off, too. We'll need to paint some seals on your skin."

Gaara did as Kaito had asked. He unclasped his jacket and sat it on the sofa's arm. As he started to pull up the hem of his mesh shirt, Gaara paused. It wasn't that he was self-conscious of the two men seeing him without his shirt; it was just that he knew that this was the last time he would be able to back out of this. With a deep breath to harden his resolve, Gaara pulled his shirt over his head and walked to the middle of the sheet. When Gaara had finished positioning himself on the sheet, both Kaito and Shouma walked over to him holding small clay jars.

"We're going to give you a version of the shisho fuin seal," Shouma began as both he and Kaito kneeled next to Gaara. "The shisho fuin seal normally has four symbols, but this one will only have three. It will be a weaker seal, but we don't want to give you a stronger one without knowing how both you and Shukaku will react. The missing seal will allow a good portion of Shukaku's chakra to still be available to you. Shukaku will most likely still be able to have some control over you, but we can't completely seal him or else it'll take away your perfect defense.

"I want you to understand that we're not completely sure what will happen. There's a chance that this seal could be very strong against Shukaku, and there's a chance that it might only give you a fraction more control over him. Are you okay with that?" Shouma asked seriously.

Gaara nodded. At this point he didn't even care what happened. He just wanted the entire seal business to be over and done with.

"Gaara, we're going to perform an immobility jutsu on you. This is going to hurt, but we can't have you moving. It won't last more than a few minutes, but we just can't risk having you move and the seal backfire," Kaito said gravely.

Gaara nodded again in reply. The two older men looked at each other and began forming hand seals. Gaara felt a pressure against his whole body, like he was deep underwater. It was almost suffocating, but after a few seconds the feeling lessened to just feeling like he was lying under a pile of bricks.

"We're going to start now, Gaara-san," Shouma said. Gaara craned his eyes, the only part of his body he could move, and saw Shouma unscrewing the clay jar. He dipped a brush into it and pulled it back out once it was coated in the special black paint used specifically for seals. Gaara felt Shouma and Kaito begin to paint the seal and the complex protective jutsus onto his stomach. The ink felt extremely cool.

"Shisho fuin no jutsu!" both men cried out.

Gaara tried to gasp out in pain, but his mouth was shut firmly by the immobility jutsu. The ink that had felt cool only moments ago was now feeling like fire against Gaara's skin. Gaara could feel the chakra travel through the patterns drawn out in the paint and into his body. It was rushing around all his chakra pathways and boiling in his stomach. Gaara felt that there was no way his body could _not_ be on fire. He shut his eyes against the intense pain. He could feel Shukaku's own chakra and soul being ripped apart and pulled into the different parts of the seal, and he could almost hear Shukaku's screams vibrating around his skull.

Just when Gaara thought that the pain might overcome him, it started to withdraw. Finally, all the fire had settled into three small points on his stomach. Shouma and Kaito released the immobility jutsu, and Gaara's rigid form collapsed on the floor. Gaara took in big gulps of air as he tried to make sense of all his limbs again. Kaito helped him to sit up and roughly patted him on the back to help him breath correctly again.

"Are you feeling better?" Kaito asked once Gaara had finally gotten his breathing under control. Gaara opened his mouth to answer, but his throat was too dry for any sound to come out. "Shouma, can you get Gaara a glass of water?" Kaito called over to Shouma who was already making his way to the kitchen.

"Is it really done?" Gaara asked after he had taken several large gulps from the glass of water Shouma had handed him.

"It's honestly too soon to really tell," Shouma said. At seeing the crestfallen look on Gaara's face, he piped up, "But, the actual sealing was a success. It's just too soon to see all of the effects of the seal and how you and Shukaku will handle it. We should be able to tell in several weeks if it was successful in that aspect."

Gaara nodded. He had a seal, something his father had denied him of during his childhood. He had a seal; he had a best friend; he was getting along with his siblings; he had seen Miyuki's face. Gaara had to stop himself. That last part definitely didn't belong with the rest of the things, or did it? Gaara knew the reason he found himself so attracted to Miyuki was the hormones that were blazing about his body like the fire had just a few minutes ago. _But what if it isn't just hormones?_ Gaara asked himself? He didn't have an honest answer to give himself.

But either way, Gaara knew he had no time to be worrying about kunoichi. He knew he was going to have to monitor his seal and see if they were any potential threatening effects from it. Gaara gave a sigh and looked up at his saviors. Kaito and Shouma were talking softly about possible side effects. Gaara made a promise to himself as he watched the two men to repay them, along with all of Sunagakure, when he became Kazekage.


	5. Chapter 5

Woah, sorry guys for the super long update. I just got super busy with life. I'll try to update faster and with longer chapters. My goal will be at least once a month. And thank you so very much for everyone that reviewed this story thus far. It really means a lot to me. I'd love even more reviews and maybe even some suggestions. *hint hint* I have an idea of what I'd like to happen, but I would love to hear what everyone who reads the story thinks. Also, I've come back and read the story and found some mistakes here and there. I'm trying to go back and find all of them, but if anyone sees a mistake, just let me know. Thank you so much for reading! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Also, I totally made up the last names and the name of the town, so sorry if they're just totally random. And yet another thing, I've been working on a cover for this story. It's not quite done yet, but it's getting close. I'm not particularly happy with the way it looks, but once it's done it'll become the cover of this story and I'll post it on deviantart, so be on the look out for that.

Chapter Five – Captains and Undercover Work

Two nights after Gaara got his seal, his anbu squad was called on another mission. When Kaito had stopped by his house to tell him, he had informed Gaara that it was a fairly simple reconnaissance mission, fairly simple by anbu standards at least. A group of rogue ninja were kidnapping young girls in a nearby civilian town. The town had requested help from Sunagakure. Rumors had it that some of the ninja were A-class rogues from Iwagakure; therefore, an anbu team was sent to get as much information on the ninja as possible and only confront the rogues if absolutely necessary.

Gaara was told to meet at Kaito's residence that night at midnight to go over details and to meet the following night at midnight to leave for the town. When it was nearing midnight, Gaara teleported himself to Kaito's doorstep. It was the first time since getting the seal that Gaara had used his sand for transportation. Other than use a fraction more chakra than normal, Gaara felt that his transportation abilities had remained the same. He made a mental note to tell Kaito when he got the chance.

Gaara stepped closer to the door and knocked softly. Within the second, the door opened to reveal Kaito who quickly ushered Gaara inside.

"Good," Kaito said leading Gaara to the living room which Gaara distinctly remembered from his last visit, "you're here. Once Miyuki shows up, we'll be able to start the briefing." Gaara's heart launched into his throat when Miyuki's name was mentioned. He tried to get rid of the feeling by coughing, but it only succeeded in drawing Kaito's attention to him. Kaito was wearing a grin much like the one Temari wore when she was up to no good, and Gaara was sure that Kaito's smile probably did not bode well for him. Smiles like that never did. Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, Gaara forced himself to think of the mission briefing. He sat on Kaito's sofa while trying to maintain an appropriate distance from Haruka who was taking up most of the couch by sprawling across it while looking bored out of her mind. When he sat down, Haruka gave him a small wave of acknowledgement.

A knock was heard at the door, and Gaara's heart lurched into his throat. It had to be Miyuki, unless Kaito normally got a lot of visitors in the middle of the night. Kaito stood up after grinning some more at Gaara and opened the door. Once it was open, Miyuki walked in wearing a green civilian dress much like the one that Gaara had seen her in previously.

"Sit down, Miyuki, and we'll get started," Kaito said gesturing to an arm charm opposite the sofa. Miyuki walked across the room to the chair and took sat down and smoothed her skirt. Internally Gaara groaned. That was the worst possible place she could have sat. She was sitting directly in front of him, and Gaara's eyes kept on being drawn towards the small kunoichi. Thankfully the skirt of her dress wasn't too short or revealing, but that just left Gaara's mind to think about other things, like how the hard light of Kaito's apartment made her hair look like it was glowing slightly.

"We'll be leaving at dusk later today," Kaito began. Gaara's thoughts halted, and he glanced up at Kaito. Kaito was trying and failing to smother a grin. Gaara knew he had to be up to something. "This mission is an information gathering mission only. We are only to engage in combat if we are directly attacked, got it?" At the nods of the rest of the group Kaito continued. "We'll be going under cover. So far seven girls from the ages of twelve to seventeen have disappeared in Nichibotsu town. The local police have done investigating, and have discovered that a group of rouge Iwa nin have set up a base two kilometers south of the town. However, the police were unable to get any more information than that. It appears that any of the officers who got too close also disappeared. If we are able, we are also to find information on them.

"Since we're going under cover, we need to dress as civilians. Pack at least a week's worth of clothes. We might be there for a while. I've come up with identities for each of us. I will be Sanji Daichi. Haruka will be Hanabi. Miyuki will be Fumiko, and Gaara will be Hojo Kenta. Hanabi and Daichi have just gotten married and are going to Nichibotsu for their honeymoon. Fumiko is Daichi's younger sister. She and her boyfriend, Kenta, are visiting Nichibotsu along with Daichi and Hanabi. Any questions?"

"Is there a reason we're all couples?" Haruka asked in a drawling voice from her relaxed position on the sofa. Gaara's shoulders were tensed. Kaito definitely knew that Gaara had some feelings for Miyuki, however fragile they may be. Gaara let his eyes glance at Miyuki. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest, and she was biting her lip nervously. Gaara found his eyes drawn to the action. He watched as she bit down harder and saw the slight welling of blood under the thin skin. Gaara finally let his eyes move from her lips to her eyes. Gaara jumped slightly upon realizing that Miyuki had been staring at him. He was shocked to see that there was fear in her eyes. After living as a monster for so many years, Gaara could easily recognize fear in anyone's eyes, enemy or ally. Gaara's heart sunk as he realized that Miyuki was scared of him. She had every right to, after all. He had tried to kill her.

Gaara knew then that he would never be able to pursue a relationship with Miyuki, not even friendship. They were only close enough to function as teammates, and Gaara knew that he would have to cut off any dreams he had of being any closer than that. He didn't know what kind of sick joke Kaito was trying to play on him. It was obvious that Miyuki was scared of him and most likely hated him. Going on a mission where they were going have to act as a couple was going to be challenging.

Even knowing that it would be better for both of them to be as distant as possible, Gaara still found the prospect of having to be close for a mission pleasant. Miyuki was everything he wasn't. Her hair was white and pure, directly in contrast to Gaara's blood red hair. Her skin was a light peach that showed she spent time outside, but Gaara's stayed deathly white no matter how long he spent under the sun. While all her smiles seemed fake and the only expressions she showed Gaara were weary, Gaara still found them all beautiful. He never showed any expressions and was fairly certain he could probably scare more people by smiling than by his sand. They were so different, and Gaara made a promise to himself that he would enjoy their closeness while he could, and then to let all dreams of her go. The two of them were total opposites, and Gaara knew that was probably why he found himself so attracted to Miyuki. You always want what you can't have, after all.

Gaara held back a long sigh. This would have never happened before he had met Naruto. Gaara didn't regret meeting his best friend or changing his outlook on life, but he hated how difficult human relationships had become. While many people still saw him as a demon, Gaara was beginning to feel like a human again. He was beginning to feel things he had only ever felt as a child under the care of his uncle. He was changing on the inside, but many people either couldn't or wouldn't see the change. Gaara tried not to let it affect him, but he was finding it increasingly difficult. He knew he didn't have time to think about these things, especially with the mission rapidly approaching.

"It'll be necessary for us to act as couples on this mission," Kaito began. Gaara turned his head to look at Kaito. Their eyes met, and Gaara saw that Kaito was still smiling. It was obvious that he was planning something, and Gaara vaguely wondered if it was too late to stop his plan from coming to fruition. "It would be too suspicious if we all went into the town claiming just to be friends, and there's no way we could all pass off as being siblings. So, we'll be acting as couples. We'll have two rooms, and we'll pair up to scout for information."

"Kaito-nii, I still don't think this is completely necessary. We can't just be complete strangers who just happen to go to the same town?" Miyuki asked. Gaara resisted the urge to look at her. He might as well start distancing himself now. He wasn't surprised that she didn't want to even pretend to act as his girlfriend. Gaara's heart skipped a beat. _Oh crap. She's going to have to act as my girlfriend_, Gaara thought. He had seen couples walk around the village together holding hands and talking sweetly to one another. Gaara wasn't used to be close to other people, and he wasn't sure if he could handle having to be in such close to another person for an extended period of time. His new seal should help, but Gaara was still worried.

"Maa maa, Miyuki, this plan is perfect," Kaito waved his hand as if to wave aside Miyuki's worries. "Since you're a girl similar to the ones who disappeared, we're hoping to have the rouge nin take notice of you. If they decide to make a move, we can't have you being alone. Gaara will be with you at all times in case this happens. We can't risk the chance of you getting hurt."

"I can handle myself, and you know it," Miyuki countered. Gaara couldn't see her face, but he was sure she was scowling. Kaito sighed.

"I know you can, but it's a risk I'm not willing to take," Kaito said as he walked to Miyuki's side. He sat down on the arm of Miyuki's chair and put an arm around her. Gaara's eyes had followed Kaito's actions. He could see that Miyuki must still be upset. She must not like her strength being undermined. "I've never lost a person on a mission, and you're not going to be the first. There's no evidence that any of the girls that have disappeared are still alive. I don't want to put you in that situation if I can avoid it. As your captain, I'm not giving you a choice on this matter, understood?" Miyuki nodded slightly.

Standing up, Kaito began, "Alright, unless anyone has any more questions, you're all dismissed." Gaara began to stand up. "Except you, Gaara. I'd like to talk to you," Kaito said. Gaara hung back as he watched Miyuki and Haruka leave the apartment. Once they had left, Kaito turned to face Gaara. He had a big smile on his face. "So, Gaara, are you excited?"

"Excited for what? The mission?" Gaara asked. Kaito's smile grew wider. Gaara was beginning to get worried that Kaito had planned even more trouble for the mission.

"Of course," Kaito said. "This mission is the perfect opportunity for you to get closer to Miyuki."

"Why would I want to do that?" Gaara asked as he held back a scowl. Was it that obvious that he was attracted to Miyuki? Judging by the way Kaito's smile hadn't faltered the entire night, it was.

"I thought you wanted to get closer to her," Kaito said inquisitively.

"That's never been my intention," Gaara said coolly. He had been right. Kaito had been trying to set him up, and with his position as captain during the mission, it was starting to look like his plans were going to work.

"Just because it's not your intention doesn't mean it can't happen. Every time the two of you are in the same room, I've noticed you have a tendency to stare at her," Kaito said tapping his finger on his chin. "It's not a big deal. Miyuki's pretty, and you're not the first guy to notice."

"But she hates me," Gaara said quietly. He didn't like the way the conversation was turning out, and desperately wanted to end it as soon as possible. When Gaara's statement was greeted by silence, he glanced up at Kaito. The look on the older man's face was slightly bewildered.

"Gaara," Kaito began as he put a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "She doesn't hate you. She's not the most social person in the world. Just talk to her. You might find that the two of you have more in common than you think. Think of this mission as an opportunity. Even if you don't come closer to starting a relationship with her, you can become closer as teammates. As ninja we rarely have opportunities to form close relationships, but a team functions better when everyone understands each other and can work well together. Miyuki mostly goes on solo missions, and I imagine that you perform best on solo missions as well. If you two can work together, you might just be a force to become reckoned with. Just give her a chance. You don't know what can happen unless you take the first step."

Gaara nodded. He understood what Kaito was talking about. He needed to get closer to Miyuki at least to the point where he understood her fighting style. He still had no idea how she deflected his sand, and that knowledge would come in handy if they were to continue being teammates. Nonetheless, Gaara was terrified of hurting Miyuki, or any of his teammates. Even with the seal, Gaara wasn't sure how much control he had. If things got out of hand, he could kiss ever becoming Kazekage behind. The villagers knew he was trying to make progress. If he fell backwards, they would shun him and look down on him even more than before. If that happened, he would never be able to reach his goal of helping his entire village as Kage. He desperately wanted to return the favor Naruto did for him. He was determined to complete this mission successfully. Regardless of what became of his situation with Miyuki, he would become Kazekage. Gaara assured himself of that.


	6. Chapter 6

Long time no see, mina-san. Sorry for the update taking so long. Life just got in the way. This chapter's really short and very fillerish, but I hope everyone enjoys it! And if you feel the need, please review! (If you review, I might just update faster. *hint hint*) Thanks for reading and happy Halloween!

Chapter Six – It's Almost Time

At dusk Gaara arrived at Suna's village gates wearing the closest thing to civilian clothing he owned, being a white loose fitting shirt, black pants and his standard ninja sandals. It was common for civilians to wear ninja sandals for their comfort, and Gaara didn't feel that it was too obvious that he was a ninja. When he arrived, both Kaito and Miyuki were already waiting.

"Gaara," Kaito said, "you're here. Now Haruka just needs to get here, and we can head off." Gaara gave a small nod. After his conversation with Kaito, Gaara was anything but excited for the mission, especially after the conversation he had had with Kaito the night before.

"_You and Miyuki are more similar than you may think." Kaito began. "Miyuki has her reasons for everything she does. They don't always make perfect sense, but she does have a reason for the way she treats you. Give her time."_

"_What if time isn't enough?" Gaara asked looking down at his feet._

"_It might not be," Kaito said sighing, "but you'll never know if you don't try. Everyone in the village is able to see the changes in you since your first chunin exams. I truly believe that you'll become Kazekage. You'll be the youngest Kazekage in history. If you can do something like that, you can befriend Miyuki. She's just a girl like any other. She has her own problems; you just need to get to know her."_

"_I don't think she wants to get to know me, let alone have to pretend to be my girlfriend," Gaara said looking up at Kaito._

"_You might be right about the girlfriend part," Kaito said his smile faltering slightly, "but even if that's true, it's for the mission. She honestly doesn't have a choice. We don't know how strong these rouge nin are. I don't want Miyuki to get hurt. If having you pretend to be her boyfriend is what it takes for her to stay safe, then that's what you'll do. I do want you to look for anything suspicious on the mission, but because we're using Miyuki as bait, your primary job is to keep her safe. Understood?"_

Gaara reminded himself yet again that his priority for this mission was to protect Miyuki. Friendship and any other relationships had to come after being a team member. Gaara had a feeling that if he let anything happen to Miyuki that Kaito would have no problem quietly killing him and hiding his body. Shukaku probably wouldn't even have a chance against the righteous fury of Gaara's anbu captain.

At the sound of approaching footsteps Gaara looked up and saw Haruka walking towards the group. She met Gaara's eyes and gave a nod of recognition which Gaara returned after a few hesitant seconds.

"Now that everyone is here we can leave. Everyone remember their identities?" At everyone's nod, Kaito gestured for everyone to begin walking towards Suna's gate. Snapping his fingers Kaito stopped and turned to Gaara. He reached into his pack and threw Gaara a small, dark item. "Almost forgot."

"A hat?" Gaara asked as he turned the object Kaito had just thrown him in his hands. It was blue baseball cap with the logo from a popular baseball team based out of a nearby town.

"You need to wear a hat to cover up your kanji. Anyone who sees it will automatically know who you are," Kaito explained. Gaara looked wearily at the hat. The only time he had ever worn a hat was during one mission where he, his siblings, and Baki had to go to the borders of Iron Country. He knew that some ninja wore hats to prevent sunburn, but, due to his sand shield, Gaara never had to worry about sunburn and was ultimately unfamiliar with hats and had a feeling that he would look ridiculous in a Naniwa Scorpions baseball cap. Judging by the snicker he heard coming from Haruka when he put on the hat, he did.

"Alright, we can head out for real this time," Kaito said as he turned to face the gates. "We can run for about forty five minutes until we reach Yoshino village, and then we'll have to walk and act as civilians until we reach Nichibotsu. Let's get going!"

The group began running, and Gaara fell into place behind Haruka in the back of the group. He was glad he had made the decision to wear ninja sandals instead of regular civilian shoes. Running for forty five minutes in standard civilian shoes would be miserable. Gaara strained his eyes in the fading light to see what kind of shoes Miyuki was wearing. Gaara's eyes widened when he saw that Miyuki was wearing white civilian sandals that were entirely fashionable instead of practical. Gaara forcibly pushed that thought away. He was supposed to protect her from getting kidnapped not from getting blisters.

Gaara's thoughts drifted away from the girl running three meters ahead of him to the demon sealed inside his abdomen. For the most part Gaara felt the same since he had received the seal. The growling and incensed mumbling inside his head had ceased, and for that Gaara was extremely thankful. Ever since his youth, that voice had been his constant companion and was often the reason for Gaara's bloody and violent tendencies. Whenever it had been too long since Gaara had killed, the voice would get unbearably loud and scream for Gaara to live again. Gaara had to choose between losing his sanity to the voice inside his head or killing an enemy nin, or even an innocent bystander.

Gaara felt immensely guilty for the innocent lives he had taken all in the name of keeping his sanity, which was always a losing battle. Even now he still occasionally felt sharp pangs inside his skull which he assumed was Shukaku struggling against the seal. He had never felt so in control, but the fatigue was beginning to get to him. It was frustrating to say the least. Shukaku had supplied Gaara with nearly endless amounts of chakra, but with this seal, the amount of chakra Gaara had at his disposal was smaller, not drastically so, but it was still a significant amount, and Gaara was starting to feel the effects. The fatigue was increasing every day, and Gaara felt himself becoming more susceptible to emotions, emotions like guilt and infatuation. Ultimately, it was an unpleasant feeling, and Gaara figured there was only one cure for it: sleep. Sleep would take away the fatigue and allow Gaara's mind to rest and banish his insecurities. Gaara had been an eyewitness to Temari's irritability when she hadn't had enough sleep, and Gaara knew he was on his way to becoming just as bad as Temari when she had night guard duty.

Gaara let out a long sigh. This mission was going to be a long one for so many reasons. Judging by the position of the moon in the sky, the group had been running for almost forty five minutes, and Gaara just wanted to get this mission started. He preferred running, it was so much faster, but walking wouldn't make him as tired as running, and he was looking forward to it.

Barely on the edge of his perception, Gaara could see an upcoming town. Shoulders sagging slightly in relief, Gaara watched the group for signs of stopping.

"Alright, mina-san, it's time to start walking," Kaito said once the group had almost reached the outskirts of the town. The group slowed, and Gaara let his muscles relax. This was the most activity he had done since the sealing, and Gaara's muscles were crying for rest and chakra. Gaara sighed. He should probably tell Kaito. As a medic nin, he should have a solution, but now was neither the time or the place. Gaara resigned himself to waiting until they got to Nichibotsu and he was able to find Kaito alone. Gaara reached into his civilian styled satchel for his container of soldier pills. He'd have to rely on them until he could find a permanent solution.

After swallowing the bitter tasting pill, Gaara slid the container of soldier pills back into his pack and pulled out his water bottle and took a sip to try to wash away the bitter taste in his mouth. He evened his breaths and waited for the pill to start working. After several minutes Gaara felt his chakra levels begin to rise, his senses sharpen, and his muscles lose their previous tension. Letting out a long breath, Gaara rolled his shoulders. Feeling someone's eyes on him, Gaara turned his head to see Miyuki looking at him curiously. She had probably seen him take the pill, and it would no doubt be reported to Kaito before too long. Gaara guessed this was okay. It would save him the trouble and awkwardness of telling Kaito himself.

"Can you do this mission?" A voice said next to Gaara. Gaara turned to see that Miyuki was now walking much closer to him. "If you are already having to take soldier pills, will you be able to complete the mission?"

"I'm fine," Gaara said brushing off Miyuki's concerns.

"Whatever you do," Miyuki began with a sigh, "just don't jeopardize the mission. If you honestly can't do something, just say so."

"I'm fine, really. It won't become a problem," Gaara said bluntly. This was not the conversation he wanted to have with Miyuki, or anyone for that matter.

"If you insist," Miyuki said as she began to walk closer to the rest of the group. "But make sure to tell Kaito if you're experiencing any problems, got it?"

"Got it," Gaara said as she finally left his side. Gaara mentally sighed. He assumed that Miyuki would tell Kaito about the pills, but it appeared that he would have to be the one to do it. He fully intended to put off that conversation for as long as possible.

Gaara looked up to the horizon. The moon had finally risen high enough to be visible. It wasn't uncommon for civilians to travel across the desert during the night due to the heat of the desert during the day. It wouldn't be unusual for a group of civilians to reach a town during the early morning hours when it was still cool and look for a hotel. Kaito had been careful to make the group as civilian like as possible, and Gaara had to say he was impressed. He had never gone undercover before. He was normally contracted for blunt force and was not used to the way undercover missions were usually run.

Not only was he a rookie anbu, but he was also a rookie at undercover missions. That combined with the lovely fact that he was going to have to fake being Miyuki's boyfriend meant that this mission was definitely going to be interesting, and everything was probably going perfectly according to Kaito's plan. The man obviously had too much free time if he had enough time to mess with Gaara's life.

"Mina-san!" Kaito called out from the front of the group. Gaara looked up to see that they were only about another half hour's walk from the town. Kaito paused to let the rest of the group catch up to him. "Are you ready, Kenta-kun?" Kaito asked Gaara once Gaara had caught up to his captain.

"As ready as I'll ever be, Daichi-san," Gaara replied. He adjusted his baseball cap and walked past his captain towards the town.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry it took so long to update! I have about a million reasons it's so late, but none of them are all that great, so I'll spare you the details. So right now everyone is undercover, so they all have undercover names, which I kept on forgetting while writing this chapter. Thus, here's what they are: Gaara - Kenta, Miyuki - Fumiko, Kaito - Daichi, Haruka - Hanabi. I hope that helps. Also, I have a present at the end of the chapter for everyone since this chapter was so late. Another thing, if there are any mistakes, feel free to tell me. Thanks and enjoy!

Chapter 7 – The Fight Begins

"Okay, everyone drop your stuff, and we'll head out to the town," Kaito said as he dropped his bag on the room's bed. The group had just booked two rooms at the first inn they had run across. Kaito and Haruka were staying in the inn's modest honey moon suite, and Gaara and Miyuki were to stay in the next room over. The group was currently standing together in the honey moon suite. Gaara was looking wearily at the pink wallpaper that was dotted with lopsided pink hearts. He might have to share a room with his teammate-turned-almost-crush-but-also-kinda-curren t-bane-of-existence, but at least he didn't have to sleep in a room that was themed after Valentine's Day gone wrong. Gaara was thankful for small miracles.

"Here are your room keys," Kaito said and handed both Miyuki and Gaara small copper keys. "Scout around the town until one, and then we'll meet up at the diner across the street from here to regroup. Don't forget to set traps in your room before you leave. Got it?" The two nodded and turned to leave the room. Gaara paused when Miyuki set her hardened gaze on him. Gaara looked on nonplussed until she jerked her head towards Kaito. Gaara sighed. He knew he should talk to Kaito about his fatigue sooner rather than latter, but it was still something he wasn't looking forward to. Upon seeing Gaara's fallen demeanor, Miyuki finished the short walk to the door and quickly exited the room.

"Ka- Daichi-san, may I have a moment?" Gaara began. Kaito turned to face Gaara and nodded curtly. "Recently my chakra levels have dropped, my stamina as well. I've been relying on soldier pills, but they do not offer a permanent solution."

"That's not surprising," Kaito said with a sigh. He gestured for Gaara to set on the bed. "Shukaku helped you as much as he hindered you. Without him, you no longer have near unlimited amounts of chakra, and without his help you are unable to fix the strains on your body created by exertion and fighting. When was the last time you slept?" Gaara just stared at his captain. He couldn't be seriously asking that, could he? Kaito sighed and stepped up to Gaara. He set his hands on the younger boy's head, and soon Gaara felt a slight flow of chakra from Kaito's hands probe his body. "There's nothing wrong with you. You're merely suffering from tiredness. The only solution is sleep."

"Will I be able to sleep with the seal?" Gaara asked. He didn't dare hope for the ability to sleep. Even if there was a slight chance that he could sleep safely without Shukaku taking control, it would not be worth the possible consequences. Gaara could not risk the lives of others for a few hours of sleep.

"I highly doubt the seal would be able to hold back Shukaku with you in a state of unconscious. I'm sorry, but we just can't risk it," Kaito said. He ruffled his hair with a slightly pained expression on his face. "There are other methods of reaching unconsciousness that should give you some relief. They are not ideal, but they'll have to do. We don't have time to do anything right now. We'll have to wait for tonight. Will you be okay until then?" Gaara looked up at Kaito. This man was his anbu captain, nothing more nothing less. Was it the norm for teammates to look after each other to this extent? This man kept shocking Gaara. He reminded him somewhat of Naruto, a much quieter Naruto. Maybe the world was not as bad as Gaara had thought it to be. Thinking back to Kaito's questions, Gaara nodded.

"Good," Kaito said. "Catch up with Fumiko-chan then, and we'll see you at lunch."

Gaara nodded and stood up. He exited the room and walked to his own room's door. Gaara took a breath and put the key into the door. With a small click the door unlocked, and Gaara entered the room. Miyuki looked up from her place on the bed farthest from the door. Gaara was relieved. The walls of this room were a soft yellow, a stark contrast from the other room's bright pink, and there were two small beds positioned several feet from each other. Gaara was especially thankful for the two beds. They would help to alleviate the awkwardness of the situation if only by a margin.

"Did you get everything sorted out with Daichi-nii?" Miyuki asked while she stood up from the bed. Gaara nodded. Miyuki gave a nod back. Gaara slipped his bag off his shoulders and set it on the bed. He looked up to see that Miyuki was making her way to the small room's door. "Are you ready for this?" she asked. Gaara gave another nod, and the two made their way out of the room and towards the exit of the inn.

As they reached the inn's front door, Miyuki slid both of her arms around one of Gaara's. He visibly jumped. He looked down to see two slender arms wrapped around his now stiff appendage. His gaze followed those arms to their owner. "Why don't we go to the market, Kenta-kun?" Miyuki gave Gaara her brightest smile. Gaara gave a shiver. Her smile was bright and happy, but her eyes held murderous intent. Her message was clear: _I'm only doing this for the mission. I'd rather hold hands with an octopus. If you mess up this mission, you're going down."_

"Yes, the market sounds great," Gaara said as he plastered the best smile he could manage on his face. It probably looked horribly fake and had the ability to scare small children, but Gaara was not used to smiling, especially when dealing with someone such as the teammate currently attached to his left arm. Gaara was beginning to think, or maybe just vainly hope, that his feelings for Miyuki weren't anything close to a crush. The girl was just as scary as Temari after her month long mission in Amegakure.

The two headed out the door and towards the town's shopping district. Gaara felt a slight shift in chakra, and he turned to look down at Miyuki. She had masked her chakra to match that of a civilian. Gaara was impressed. He was in the habit of completely cloaking his chakra constantly due to having the ichibi's chakra mixed in with his own. Most people found the demon's chakra malicious, and Gaara had therefore learned to completely cloak his chakra from an early age, but it would be suspicious to walk around with his chakra completely hidden. Gaara took a breath and slowly let some of his chakra trickle to the surface. It was harder to maintain a small portion of visible chakra than to completely hide it, and Gaara knew that it was going to tire him out even more. He was slightly envious of Miyuki for being able to do it so easily.

The two walked at an easy pace to the town's market. Gaara eyed the townspeople around him. No one seemed suspicious. Housewives were gossiping to each other outside of colorful tents housing merchants and their wares. Children laughed and ran around the streets. It seemed like a normal town to Gaara. Gaara felt a tug on his sleeve. Looking down, he saw Miyuki looking up at him.

"There's hardly any girls out," Miyuki whispered as she stood on her tiptoes and put her mouth by Gaara's ear. Gaara blinked. He looked around the street again. She was right. All the children running around were boys, and the gossiping women had a nervous air about them. He only saw a couple of young girls, all of which were being held tightly by their mothers.

"We're in luck then," Gaara said in a low whisper. "If you're the only girl out, they'll be more likely to target you. We should split up." Miyuki nodded and looked up at Gaara with a bright smile.

"Kenta-kun, I'm thirsty. Would you get me a drink?" Miyuki asked, her smile never faltering. Gaara inwardly grimaced. What had he done in a past life to deserve this? His earlier assumption appeared to be correct: Miyuki was just as scary as Temari, or maybe it was the entire female gender that was scary. However, his other female teammate seemed normal, so then maybe it was just all females that he had to deal with. Although Naruto seemed to be unlucky in the female department, too. His pink haired teammate clearly disliked him regardless of how much the blond knuckle head was enamored with the girl. He and Naruto had more in common than Gaara first realized after all. Gaara had lived with Temari all his life. A few days with Miyuki should be a piece of cake, hopefully.

"Hai, what would you like?" Gaara asked his teammate. She simply pointed to a tea shop several meters away.

"I'm going to go look at the hairclips over there," Miyuki said this time pointing to a small stand in the other direction. "Take your time." Gaara nodded in response and made his way over to the tea shop. He discretely let his chakra probe the area to find Miyuki's chakra signature. He needed to keep an eye on it in case anything happened. Upon reaching the shop, Gaara pushed the cloth above his head out of his way and made his way to the front of the store.

"What will you have?" the elderly lady running the shop asked. Gaara eyed the menu behind the woman.

"Two cups of black tea," Gaara replied.

"Is that for here or to go?" the woman asked.

"To go," Gaara stated.

"Are you getting tea for you and your girlfriend?" the woman asked as she poured the tea into small plastic cups. "The pretty little lady with the white hair over there?" The woman asked while setting the cups on the counter in front of Gaara. "That will be for thousand ryo."

"Yes. "We came here on vacation with her brother," Gaara supplied as he fished the right amount of money out of his pocket.

"Well, have the young lady be careful. The town is not always safe," the woman said wearily.

"Is that so?" Gaara asked in his best small talk voice as he set the money on the counter. "The town seems safe enough."

"You can never be too safe," the woman said nervously as she took Gaara's money. "Have a nice day! Enjoy the tea!" The woman ushered him away with faked cheerfulness. Gaara took the tea and exited the shop. There really was something amiss in the town.

Gaara eyed the crowded street for a head of white hair. When he found Miyuki, she was talking to a tall man with blonde hair. He seemed normal enough, but he stood slightly too close to Miyuki. He appeared to engaging Miyuki in casual conversation. Miyuki herself seemed okay with the situation. Her chakra signal was not disturbed in any way. When Gaara got close enough, Miyuki turned to look at him with a nervous but relieved smile. It was one of the most relieved smiles Gaara had ever seen on her face.

"Kenta-kun, you're back," Miyuki said once Gaara reached her side. She took the proffered cup of tea with a small mumble of thanks. "This is Ichiro-san. We met when he dropped his bag."

"Yes, Fumiko-chan was kind enough to pick my bag up after I dropped it. You are lucky to have such a wonderful girlfriend," Ichiro said with a wide smile.

"Ah, thank you," Gaara said after a moment's pause. He searched his mind for the first excuse to leave he could come up with. "Well, we should get going. Fumiko-chan, you said you wanted to buy some souvenirs, right?"

"You're right. I wanted to buy them before lunch," Miyuki said. Then she turned and gave a slight bow to Ichiro. "Thank you for the lovely conversation, Ichiro-san."

"No, thank you," Ichiro said with another wide smile. He held out his hand to shake Miyuki's. She shook his hand with a polite smile. When their hands touched, both Miyuki and Gaara sensed a small jolt of chakra. Ichiro withdrew his hand and offered it to Gaara. He shook the older man's hand. This time there was no spark of chakra. "Have a lovely day, you two." Ichiro flashed them a final smile and walked down the street with a small wave.

Miyuki and Gaara shared a look. Ichiro had left a chakra marker on Miyuki's hand. It would be undetectable to civilians but obvious to even a genin ninja. The two would have to act as if nothing had happened or the rouge ninja would sense something amiss. Miyuki reached out to grab Gaara's hand. She squeezed it lightly. It was clear that even as a seasoned ninja she was nervous. Gaara squeezed her hand back. The two started to walk down the street again. Gaara could sense the chakra marker blazing brightly on the hand he held in his. The mission had certainly gotten underway faster than he had anticipated. Even if Miyuki was live bait, Gaara promised himself that he would do everything he could to make sure everyone on their team made it home safely.

**Author's note:**

Another chapter done. I have the rest of the mission planned out, so hopefully the next chapter won't take too long. Maybe it'll be up sooner if I get a lot of reviews. I have some cover art like half done for this story, but I hate the coloring job, but it's not totally horrible so it should be up on my deviantart soon, along with a character design of Miyuki in her battle outfit. My deviantart is also usagi213, so feel free to look me up. In other anime-ish news, I was at Momocon cosplaying Sailor Moon if anyone was there. I'll also be at Nashicon this month with my friend. I'll be Sakura and he'll be Gaara, with secret agent outfits (aka suits and ties) instead of the standard ninja uniform. In non-anime news, I won Hello Kitty's Harajuku Tokyo Street Style photo contest for the head to toe look. It's on HK's facebook page if anyone is interested.

And now, what everyone is waiting for! Your surprise present! I wrote the ending of the chapter from Miyuki's perspective. I thought it would be fun, and it'll help everyone understand where she is coming from. **Without further ado, Miyuki's perspective:**

_Crap,_ was the first thought that passed through Miyuki's head. Though invisible to the eye, all of Miyuki's other senses were screaming about the chakra marker resting on the palm of her right hand. When Ichiro had first approached her, she wasn't sure what he wanted. He didn't come off sleazy, but it was clear to any trained eye that he had a purpose when he started talking to her. Now she knew what that purpose was: to mark her as the next kidnapping victim.

Miyuki glanced at Gaara. She honestly didn't know what to make of him. She wanted to hate him, but it was hard to do. For starters, her life was basically in his hands. She had no choice but to trust him. On top of that, she was weary of his past, of both of their pasts really. For now, however, she had to put away any qualms she had about him. She moved her hand away from her side to slide into Gaara's hand. She felt him give a slight jump, but he quickly returned her grasp. She squeezed his hand. She didn't want to admit it, even to herself, but she was nervous about the mission. She was not thrilled went Kaito basically said, "Guess what Miyuki, you're live bait, and the person you have the most issues with on this team is the only thing standing between you and death. Have fun!"

More than hating Gaara, Miyuki really hated herself. She was a perfect ninja. She became anbu at age eleven and had completed dozens of successful A class missions. She shouldn't be nervous, but none of those missions had involved her acting as bait. Feeling Gaara squeeze her hand back, Miyuki stiffened her shoulders as the two began to walk down the street. She had not been expecting Gaara to squeeze her hand back. She hadn't really been expecting for _her_ to squeeze his hand. It was an automatic impulse because of her nervous state. The boy really was an idiot, apparently a rather caring idiot, but like all other boys, an idiot. How could she keep on hating him when he was trying his hardest?


End file.
